Comparing Premier league clubs’ TV money with what it would buy in their local areas – such as 699 houses in Swansea

22nd May 2014

The Premier League has released figures for the 2013/14 broadcasting commercial payments to clubs, prompting Gocompare.com Money to compiled its own table that compares the amount paid to a club with the everyday finances of the people in the area the club is based.

The interactive table allows Premier League football fans to compare the average annual earning and house prices in their area to what their team earned in broadcasting rights in the 2013/2014 season. The table also shows how much clubs earned in comparison to average heating bills and national average consumer debt.

Overall, Premier League teams took home a collective £1.5 billion in broadcasting rights. This is the equivalent of the average energy bills of 1.2 million households and could wipe out the personal debt of over a quarter of a million people in the UK.

Though Manchester City were the league champions this year, it was Liverpool that took home the biggest pay-out for broadcasting rights, being paid a staggering £97,554,336 for the season.

With the broadcast money Liverpool FC were paid for coming second, the Reds could have bought 1,069 houses in the city, or paid the annual salary of 3,887 fans. The payments mean that Liverpool FC could pay the annual energy bills of 77,179 households, more than one and a half times the capacity of Anfield, which is 45,362.

Relegated Cardiff City took home around £62 million. In Cardiff, they could’ve snapped up 422 houses at an average price of £147,105 each. Though impressive, it pales in comparison to their derby rivals Swansea City, who could’ve picked up 699 homes in their area, where the average property value is £106,011.

Ninth place Stoke City could buy the most property in their hometown, with their pay-out of £76 million stretching to buy 1,082 homes, at an average value of £69,910. Conversely, it was Chelsea FC that would be able to buy the least real estate in their native area as their £94 million payment would only pocket them 75 properties in the borough of Chelsea.

Matt Sanders from Gocompare.com Money says: “Our revised premier league table really puts football spending into perspective when compared to everyday life. The idea that the lowest paid club is paid over two and a half thousand times the annual salary for the area from broadcasting rights alone, is pretty staggering.

“It’s worth remembering that these are only the payments for the broadcast rights, and the full figures, which include merchandising, sponsorship and ticket sales, have yet to be released by the clubs, and will make the grand total significantly higher.

“With recent public outcry over the £90 price tag attached to the 2014 England football shirt, these figures will no doubt bring into question whether clubs are doing enough for their local area and whether football is delivering value for money for fans.”